Lonely Needs a Friend
by MasterLinx
Summary: One night whilst scrolling through his social media a familiar face pops up and after she accepts his friend request his night turns out a little different than how he first imagined it would. [JackxKimiko] [JxK]


**Greetings, this is the first fanfic of which I am posting on my Master Linx profile. That's me, Linx. Nice to meet you! **

**I'm confused on whether this should be T or M rated cause there is nothing hyper-sexualised but hints of it. I shall go with T for now. Might change it later.**

**This is a lot of waffling, trying to get those creative juices flowing, y'know!**

**Enjoy the story, mi amigos!**

* * *

**Lonely Needs a Friend**

The rain pattered lightly on his bedroom window but he didn't pay any attention to it, too engrossed in the misery that was his social media page. Sat in his darkened room, computer screen blaring bright light and casting obscure estranged shadows on the walls and ceiling, Jack sighed deeply. He was sat hunched over with his chin resting in the palm of his hand, elbow propped up on the desk while his free hand used the mouse to scroll lazily through the online news feed.

_Oh, look at that. _Jack thought, not moving except to raised his eyebrows half an inch higher for a split second. _Ashley's been with that dude for two years now. Wonder how he puts up with her. _It was shocking enough when Katnappe had actually landed herself a boyfriend at all, but they had been together much longer than he first would have anticipated so it must have been love. Though she was still a crazy - sometimes evil - cat lady she managed to find someone willing to compromise withher feline obsession... _Some people are weird._

In all of the posts, that was the only positive message he could find today. Everything else was people moaning about how the country was run or how their relationship was falling apart or how their relationship was non-existent or how someone was unemployed - to which Jack rolled his eyes. _You're preaching to the choir, baby._

"Urgh!" the boy groaned and leaned back throwing his head up to rest atop the high back of his chair. He looked up at the ceiling following the lines of the shadows with his eyes while he thought about how dull his life was now.

It had been over nine years since the last battle had ended resulting in the Heylin losing the war. Defeated and wounded, most of the Heylin warriors had been tagged and/or locked up. He was one of the lucky one's to get nothing but a slap on the wrist and be sent home sulking. Though at the time he was offended, now he realised he was almost grateful that they hadn't punished him for his actions. But due to all of the evil-inactivity and 'normal' living, he had become a bit of a recluse not going out except to attend school and then college - which he later dropped out after a year.

His father had been very disappointed in his only son and child giving up on his degree but Jack could care less. Its not like he saw much of the man anyway, he was hardly ever home. His mother was a little more easy going in the sense that she understood that he must have been stressed but he knew she was also disappointed in his lack of effort. She was also barely home but still in the country so she visited often when she had the day off.

After the whole debacle with university, his parents had begun suggesting (and later demanding when concerning his father) that he get a job and he had had a few. However not many lasted as some were only temporary positions who never kept him on when the contract was up and others he himself resigned from, telling his family that he had been let go. It was usually due to people he worked with being too difficult or just downright rude and condescending or the custom in which the business sold to being disrespectful yet expecting perfect customer service. Currently he was unemployed, though made sure to tell his mother about all the jobs that he was _definitely_ applying for.

His mother would text him most days telling him to go outside for a walk or just to sit in the garden and read for half an hour, and sometimes he did but most of the time he disregarded the suggestions that required his pale figure leaving the confines of his home.

He exhaled deeply yet again and looked back down at the screen. It had been three weeks since his mother had gone to the city this time. It had been three weeks since he had had any form of contact. _What has my life come to?_

Jack clicked the refresh button on his internet browser and the newsfeed reloaded with all the newest posts in the last few moments. That's when he saw it and his eyes widened.

The webpage had reloaded at the top and shown suggestions for friend requests.

'_Do you know...?' _and there was her bright smile and blue eyes looking back at him from the screen.

"Kimiko...?" Jack breathed in surprise.

Without thinking about it - as if it was an automatic reaction - he sent a friend request but then instantly regretted it. _What are you doing? As if she'll want to hear from you after all this time! Don't be ridiculous! _So he cancelled his request and groaned from resulting inner turmoil, _but I am curious to see how she is and what if there's no hard feelings? Maybe its all okay now. _So he resent the friend request. _Are you sure you wanna put yourself through the humiliation of being rejected? Could you even handle it now?_

Jack clawed his hand through his hair in frustration. He was so confused. After thinking it over he realised it was a stupid thought that she might have forgiven him after all these years. But just as he went about to cancel the request he got the notification that she had accepted.

His heart leapt up in to his throat. _WHAT? _She had accepted? Really? He didn't understand why. It occurred to him that she was also online right now which made his heart rate soar with nervous energy.

The young man clicked on her name in the chat box and it opened a private messaging window titled with her name, Kimiko Tohomiko.

For a while he just stared at the keyboard trying to work out just what to say and how to say it. His fingers twitched from the anxiety and panic.

His eyes glanced up and fixed on the small profile picture. He hovered the mouse over the top of it and clicked, the image enlarging on his screen so he could see a much clearer zoomed in version.

It was of course the girl he once knew all grown up. Her long satin hair was tied back in a high ponytail and she had a pair of sunglasses propped on top of her head while she simulataneously winked and pouted at the camera. Her cheekbones looked more defined, her lips fuller or maybe that was just the pose but her eyes looked just as bright as they always had. She was the one taking the photo as was obvious with one of her hands disappearing out the side of the photo clearly holding up the device it was taken on. It was a sunny day with a blue sky and she was wearing a red crop top and what looked like the beginnings of black leggings but the photo cut off just below her waistline. She wasn't alone in the photo. There was another asian girl about the same age that he didn't recognise who was perched just on Kimiko's shoulder also pouting at the camera. This girl had shorter hair under a baseball cap and a baggy purple tshirt that hung off one of her shoulders.

And finally the last person in the young woman's profile pic was another familiar yet older face. The Xiaolin Dragon of wind. Raimundo. They looked like they were walking somewhere and Kimiko had decided to take a photo on the way, as he was a little further back than the two closer girls and his legs were spread one forward and the other back and slightly lifted off of the ground. His hair was just as playboy messy as it always had been and his smile was just as easy-going and leisurely as before with maybe a tad more charm. His facial features also appeared more defined with age and his body muscular from all of the training that the monks had continued to do over the years; it was obvious even with the guy's hoodie and cargo pants hiding most of the young man's figure.

The year's had been kind to them. Jack glanced to the long mirror in his wardrobe door and saw a scrawny, creature with dull sunken eyes staring back at him. He frowned.

But before he could think anymore on it a tiny, quiet beep sounded in front of him drawing his attention back to the monitor. He clicked on the cross to minimize the photo again and... she had just sent him a message. _She_ had sent _him _a message.

_'Yo, Spicer! How ya been?'_

Friendly. It was the first thing that occurred to him. The tone of the message was friendly. It was a nice greeting. Again his fingers twitched trying to work out how to reply but she had taken the first step so it was so much easier now.

_'Hey Kim, its been a long time. Hope you've been doing well for the past few years.' _ He waited nervously for a response, his eyes glued to the three dots creating an ellipsis indicating that she was typing.

_'Getting by, Jack. Getting by. Almost became a fully fledged Xiaolin Dragon. Though Rai's still top dog at the temple. Then again he works hard so he deserves it, I guess.'_

Jack couldn't work out why but he felt a small surge of jealousy flare up at the mention of one of the other Xiaolin warriors. The fact that she also had the guy in her picture didn't help either. He silently scolded himself for these feelings however. He thought he had gotten over his silly crush on her years ago; they hadn't spoken a word since the final battle and he had never acted upon it since that one time that she had flat out rejected just the tiniest hint when they were just teens, _'Ah, Well done. That sounds great. So how are the others? Anything new? Omi figured out sarcasm yet?'_

He received a cry-laughing emoji and Jack couldn't help but smile at her quick response to his quip at Omi. _'Omi's still working on his street smarts, but he's much better at detecting when someone's messing with him. Even met a girl on one of our outings three years back. In New York. An old friend of his introduced them. You can imagine the fun Rai had teasing him about it.'_

Again a small flare of jealousy at the second mention of the Xiaolin leader but he was able to ignore on the basis that Omi apparently had a girlfriend of sorts. _'No way! Chrome-dome? Incredible! Well, that just makes me feel like there's something wrong with me now. Lol.'_

The redhead hadn't realised what he had joked about until she pointed it out and his face blew up red from embarrassment. _'So you're still single? No lady Spicer? Oh but you were such a catch ;)'_ He knew she was joking but it still made him smile a little.

He tried to brush it off though to sound like he couldn't care less. _'Meh, no time for love to be honest.'_

_'Oh? Busy?'_

_'You bet.' _He lied.

_'Ooh, consider me intrigued. With what? Robotics?' _Her enquiring in what he was doing with his time was odd but he liked that someone seemed genuinely interested.

The only problem? He wasn't really doing _anything_ with his time other than sinking deeper and deeper into depression which he was only able to escape from when his mother came home and made him feel loved and wanted and cared for. _I'm so pathetic. _This was sadly the most exciting thing he had done in as long as he could remember. He lied again and tried to change the topic. _'Yeah, just working on something new. Complicated stuff, programming, y'know! Anyway, what about you?' _He hit enter then debated whether or not he wanted to add it, but decided to dive right in and asked anyway, _'You must be in a relationship right?'_

_Seen at 00:32_

He stared at the '_seen at...'_ message for what felt like ages thinking _oh god, I messed up. I shouldn't have asked her something so personal. Dammit! What is wrong with me? _Then the ellipsis appeared again and he leaned closer to the computer screen.

_'Why would you think that?'_

Jack's cheeks exploded red. Now he had to try and explain himself. He checked her social media's profile information to see if the about section was hidden. But no such luck as he found it was still visible and there it was clear as day. Relationship Status; Single. Why hadn't he just checked that in the first place anyway! Then again social media wasn't everything! Some people didn't share certain things online. Maybe her relationship was more of a private thing or maybe she wasn't so engrossed in social media as some people their age.

Sighing, feeling defeated, Jack decided on just going with the truth.

_'Because you're you and y__ou've always been beautiful and fun.'_

Again he had to stare at the '_seen at...'_ message for a while, dread filling him yet again.

He hadn't complimented or spoken with a girl that he was even remotely into since Megara Haas four years ago at the coffee shop in the next town over. It was during a christmas temp position while one of shop's baristas was on maternity leave during the christmas holiday and they needed the extra staff for their busy winter periods. Megara had been this tiny but confident twenty year old sales assistant that had been assigned to train him up. So they were often on the same shifts together and he found that he was actually beginning to look forward to work for once. She would laugh at his awful jokes and join in as well and she had never made him feel bad for asking questions that even he felt were just plain dumb when he later thought it through alone. Only when his contract was coming to end did he work up the courage to ask her out for a drink sometime. But as fate would have it, she was in a relationship already though said she would be happy to hang out sometime as friends. He had, at the time, agreed and seemingly taken the rejection well but when he had gotten home his cool composure had broken and it was maybe the one time he was glad to be in the Spicer manor alone.

That was a time when the questions and self-hatred had flared up once more to crippling heights, restricting him to his bed some days and not just the house. _Is there something wrong with me?_ He had often wondered and the imposter in his mind had replied as it often did _Of course there! Look at you! You're useless! A good for nothing! This is why you turned to evil in the first place because you could never amount to anything on your own! You've never been good enough and you never will be! Why even bother?!_

Beep! Beep! The chiming sounds of the chat box broke through his dreary reverie and suddenly a very interesting message from the Xiaolin monk appeared. _'Do you live at the same address as before?'_

_'Yes? Why?' _He couldn't work out why she wanted to know. Was she planning on sending him something? Was it just out of curiosity?

_'Oh, no reason! Anyway, gotta go! Gotta get up early tomorrow. Night, Jackie! :* ' _Before he could respond she logged off. Well that was strange and abrupt. Maybe he _had_ ruined the conversation with his invasive question. But then she had sent him a goodnight kiss emoji, which indicated that all was okay. Ugh, girls were confusing.

He considered that maybe he should go to sleep now as well but then he sighed and shook his head. Even if he did get in to bed his mind was racing so much that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep until he was exhausted. Waiting until he practically passed out was pretty much how he fell asleep nowadays and often he slept through the daytime, while he was active at night.

In the end he decided on taking a shower to sort out his messed up head for now and to freshen up a little. Besides he needed a shave as well.

* * *

It was now 2:54 AM and Jack had just been frowning at his own reflection for almost ten minutes in silence. He had cut his cheek twice while shaving and being anaemic it took a little longer to clot than it would anyone else had he been just another healthy member of society. He watched as the red beads slowly rolled down to meet at his chin, staining his skin finally clotting and scabbing over. He was still appalled that he had managed that at his age. _I'm 27 years old and I can't even shave properly. _He shook his head and decided he shouldn't think so negatively about himself. _Don't beat yourself up over something so miniscule. Dad used to do it all the time. Its a normal mistake to make for any man. _With that small reassurance, he picked up the wash rag and lifted it to his face wiping away the dried blood.

Just as he wiped away the last smear of red on his face suprisingly the door chime resounded around the whole house.

The redhead slowly turned his head to the bathroom door as if that was where sound had come from. After coming to no conclusion as to who it could possibly be he began making his way out of the bathroom, all the while folding his bathrobes around himself and tying the belt in a half bow around his waist.

The musical bells sounded again as he made it halfway down his staircase. Who could possibly be ringing his bell at this time in the morning? No one visited the Spicer manor as usually he was the only one at home and no one ever wanted to talk to _him_. People who knocked usually wanted the attention of Mr and Mrs Spicer for business deals though those types of people rarely came round anymore seeing as the two workaholics were rarely ever home. Not that they would knock should someone ever test the manor but burglars dare not try anything; the robotics all over the house and grounds was good enough security to make anyone second guess themselves and give up. So no visitors of any kind - except maybe the postman but at this ungodly hour?

Jack came face to face with his front door and just stared at it, almost frightened of who it could be.

But then his heart stopped altogether when he heard a familiar yet muffled voice call from the other side, "Open the door, Jack! I can see your shadow through the frosted window. I know you're there!"

He flung the door open and there she was. She smiled brightly up at him and then blushed and averted her eyes, "Ah, sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No," he replied bluntly frowning at her.

Why was she here? Man, he was glad she was, but why? How? Also _damn_ she was even more gorgeous than he remembered. Prettier than the photograph. Much more beautiful in person where he could see the way the light hit her dazzling blue eyes and made them shine as she glanced back at him with an innocent smile.

She was taller yet still shorter than him and curvier in all the right places. She was wearing a navy blue long-sleeved jumper that hugged her shape and stopped mid-thigh with black leggings and black ballet pumps. She was wearing her hair down unlike all those years before when she would tie it up in pigtails or hid it under all of her fashionable wigs. Now it hung loosely around her face, falling below her shoulders in a straight stream of shimmering black. Her bright blue eyes hadn't changed at all, still full of life and fiery energy and right now they creased with a shy but excited smile that she directed straight at him. He was simply captivated.

"Oh, then um...?" she gestured to his outfit and her eyes flickered down briefly and then back up to his face.

"Huh?" he shook himself out of his enchanted state and glanced down realising he was dressed in only a bathrobe and then remembered her question. His cheeks exploded with colour. _Ah, shit! I'm practically naked in front of her! Fuck! _"Ah! Right! I just got out the shower, um, sorry. I wasn't really expecting any guests at," he glanced at the grandfather clock across the hall. He frowned again in confusion, "Three in the morning...Kim, why are you here? At three? In the morning? Don't you have to be up early?"

"Really?" she asked incredulously, placing her hands on her hips with an upraised eyebrow.

OH! She had lied...to surprise him? "Oh... huh?"

"Look, the temple's quiet and boring nowadays. There's no evil to thwart so its just a bunch of chores and practice with the Shen Gong Wu - which is how I got here, in case you were wondering," she explained with a shrug. She sighed, "There's no adventure anymore. I'll be honest, I couldn't sleep so I was just absently scrolling through my socials when you added me. I'm not doing anything tomorrow; I have a day off in fact so I thought, I would do something a little more interesting than what I had planned and visit an old friend," she then smirked playfully, "I do hope you're not _too_ busy with all that complicated programming."

That last remark made it clear she didn't believe him when he said he was too busy earlier online. Apart from that he was a little stunned. So the monks - or at least Kimiko - were just as bored with life now as he was. _Also_ she had considered him a friend. She even decided that it would be more fun to visit him than anything else on her day off. Him!

The pause was maybe an awkward second too long but he moved aside and gestured, "Please come in. You look cold."

"Oh, I'm the Xiaolin dragon of fire, Jack, remember? I'm never cold," she pointed out shooting him with what he would have described as a devilishly sexy smile as she passed him entering the house.

Jack shut the door and then headed towards the stairs, "I'm just gonna go get dressed. Do what you want, go where you want. Seriously, do whatever. Make yourself comfortable."

The redhead rushed to the bathroom and didn't even bother locking the door. His bathrobe fell to the floor with a lazy dull thud as he began violently towel drying his hair before combing it back. Jack then picked his bathrobes back up and slung them loosely around his shoulders as he stepped in to his boxers. He began walking back to his room as he pulled them up and adjusted himself comfortably.

_Oh dear god, did I do the laundry? _He couldn't remember if he had anything to wear at all. He usually just picked things off of the floor and slung them on. After a while he would wash them all in one go, wearing his pyjamas while they were being cleaned.

The young man was sure there was at least _something_ in his wardrobe - hopefully.

He pushed on the door to his room not realising that it was already open and light was now on. Upon looking up, his heart leapt once again in to his mouth, as she looked up at him from her perch on the bed. She had one of his books in her hand.

There was a moment of tense silence between them. She was sat on the edge of his bed with her long legs crossed at the knees, her cheeks now going a deep shade of pink. Jack was stood frozen in his doorway in just his boxers and his bathrobe which was hung loosely around his shoulders and partly hanging open. Somehow his complexion went even more pale than it already was and he slowly and rigidly pulled his robes around him, covering himself again.

"You did say _anywhere_, didn't you?" Kimiko asked sweetly with an innocent chuckle.

"Y-yes," Jack stuttered completely embarrassed. He walked over to his wardrobe trying to ignore that she was in the room while he was half naked. He opened the doors and started looking through what was left, "I just didn't think my bedroom would be the first place you would think to go."

"Yeah, I guess, you're right," Kimiko shrugged, throwing the book on the sheets beside her. She sighed as she looked around the room with interest from her perch on the mattress, "You can't blame me for being curious. Its been a few years, dude. Thought I might find some secrets or something."

"What makes you think I have secrets?" he asked rummaging around and finally pulling out a black pair of pants. _Hell_ were they creased but he couldn't find anything else so they would _have_ to do.

"Everyone has secrets," Kimiko muttered as she yawned and let her body fall back on to the bed. It was soft and it dipped gently under her weight. She sighed staring up at the ceiling with her arms spread either side of her.

After fastening his trouser buttons he glanced over his shoulder to find her lying back on his bed with her legs dangling over the side, looking thoughtful. He dragged his eyes back in to the closet to now find a shirt or a plain tee or anything, while trying to keep his mind off of the beautiful young woman... who was currently lying on his bed. _Why is she here?!_

Through the piles of dirty laundry that he had thrown in the bottom of the wardrobe throughout the week, he found an old tshirt with a washed out image on the front that showed how much he had worn it over the years. He pulled it over his head inhaling deeply as he did to subtly check on the cleanliness of the material. Thank the lord - it just smelt of deoderant and nothing else! He knew he had only worn it once since the last wash anyway so it was bound to be one of the more... hygenic options.

There was the sound of movement behind him and then her voice, "Don't you want to know mine?" Jack closed his wardrobe as he turned to face her and had to swallow carefully incase he might check on his own drool. She was now lying on her side, her head propped up with one arm bent at the elbow. Her other hand was in front of her chest with her fingers splayed on his bedsheets, aiding in her balance. Kimiko's legs were bent at the knee, the top crossing over in front of the lower leg. The position caused her waist to sink and her hip to lift emphasising her figure and it reminded him of a model posing for a photo shoot. Her words and the way she was currently displayed screamed suggestive but her eyes had a seriousness to them.

The young man drew breath to respond but took a moment to reconsider before finally asking, "Kimiko, why are you here?"

Her response was delayed but suddenly she lifted herself in to a sitting position instead and forced out a laugh, crying out increduously, "I told you! I thought I would visit you and see how you were!"

"It's three in the morning, Kim," Jack pointed out causing the dragon to roll her eyes.

"So you keep saying," she muttered averting her bored gaze to his messy desk.

"What would you have done had I been asleep and not answered the door?" Jack asked wanting to understand why she was really here! She couldn't be here just to see him! The Xiaolin Dragon of Fire! The beautiful Kimiko! The beautiful, strong, wonderful Kimiko Tohomiko! Daughter of Tohomiko Inc. Who he used to fight! Who he sent his bots to defeat! Who he got beat up by every time! A young woman who, just by looking at her, could get attention from anyone and anything! Why was she here?!

"I've snuck in to this house before," the Xiaolin dragon shrugged like it was no big deal, "Sure it was to get back all the Shen Gong Wu you stole at the time and now there wouldn't really be a _good enough_ reason as to why but I'm sure you wouldn't have minded this time," the woman's legs slid off of the bed and her form rose to standing. A smirk coming to her lips as she stepped towards him. Her arms lifted and snaked around his neck, causing his breath to catch.

Instinctively, Jack took a step back but was met with the wardrobe. To his stunned surprise, the young dragon of fire stepped forward, following him and even pressed herself against his body, looking up at him through her lashes. He stuttered, his fists balled up at his sides not knowing where else to put them, "What are you doing?"

"You asked me if I were in a relationship, no?" the woman chuckled low, the vibrations running straight through him and causing his whole body to tense and his lower regions to tighten. He felt the fingers of one of her hands thread themselves in the bottom of his hair at the top of his neck, the other hand sliding round to his check, gently skimming her nails across his neck as she moved, "What would you do if I said I was single?"

He gulped. The young man didn't feel like he was being held by a beautiful woman right now. It almost felt like he was being threatened, instead of her nails it was like a knife at his throat. Something wasn't right here but - _dear god _\- he wished it was!

"_Are_ you?" he finally shuddered out the question and when she pursed her lips he added, "What about Raimundo?"

Her eyes narrowed at him, her fingers in his hair pausing their ministrations. A tense few seconds passed before she averted her eyes and withdrew her arms, taking a step back, creating space between them again. Jack let out a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding. She folded her arms in front of her and kept her gaze to the side, "What _about_ Rai?"

"I, err..." Jack scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "I guess I always thought you guys were a thing! You guys just seemed to click and -"

"Well we're not!" The woman snapped. There was a tremble in her lips all of a sudden and her eyes brimmed with silent tears, "Oh god," she grumbled pulling up her sleeve to wipe them away before they fell. She sniffled but her eyes were glaring at the wet mark on the wrist of her jumper now.

"I'm sorry I-" but the woman cut him off.

"Don't get me wrong, I love the guy! But we're not..." she cupped her hands over her face, pausing to inhale deeply. She then folded her arms again and turned partially away before she finished what she was saying, "We're not what I thought we were."

Jack frowned in thought. A realisation hit him where it hurt, "Did you come here to make him jealous?"

"What?" Kimiko's tear stricken eyes widened as she finally looked back up at his.

The young man had accusation written in his scowl as he asked, "Did you think sleeping with me would upset him enough to get some kind of reaction?"

"No," the dragon replied weakly and then shook her head repeating more confidently, "No! Okay, I was a little forward! But I'm not... I wasn't gonna... I wasn't gonna _use_ you to get to him. If he doesn't want me then I don't want him. I didn't come here to-"

"You just said you loved him, Kim," Jack rolled his eyes and now it was his turn to cross his arms barring them in front of his chest.

She snapped back at him, "I know what I said! But that doesn't mean anything if he doesn't want me back!" She threw her hands in the air, "You know what? I'm sorry. I'm sorry I came here. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just..." she trailed off, her eyes flickering between his own desperately trying to find the words before she sighed defeatedly and just shrugged. She shook her head and made for the door, "I shouldn't have come."

Wait! This isn't what he wanted! He hadn't added her on his social media to solidfy their old relationship as enemies! No! He wanted friendship!

"Wait, Kim!" He cried as she fled. He went after her hurriedly.

The surge of sudden panic that he felt was almost unbearable. After all these years of loneliness and she just turns up at his door. So, okay maybe she had some questionable intentions in mind but this was the closest thing to contact other than his mother in years. It was someone he had history with and who, at some level, seemed to want to know him. The fact that she was now running away terrified him! His chance of friendship slipping through his fingers again. _Why did I have to ruin it!? What guy does that when a girl is practically throwing themselves at you!? Fuck!_

"Kimiko, hold on!" but she continued, seemingly speeding up as they descended the grand staircase of his manor house.

A bot came gliding round the corner, just on a quiet late patrol around the ground floor of the house and Jack saw his chance. "Jackbot!"

"Are you serious?!" Kimiko screamed over her shoulder not stopping in her stride for the exit.

His feet came to a stand still at the bottom step as the machine listened for its orders, "Stop her!"

The Xiaolin monk jumped at the robot aiming to land a kick that would be able to destroy the trash can in one move. However her foot didn't make contact. The clever AI had calculated the perfect time to move out of the way and two corded arms with clamp hands shot out of his sides, the larger one fastening around her waist and pining her arms to her sides and the other fastening just under her knees holding her legs together. Surprise was an understatement for the Xiaolin dragon! Jack's bots were never this successful in their dealings with the monks. How had he successfully caught her?

Even Jack himself was surprised though he had been working on his robotics with nothing else to fill his time with over the years. Unfortunately he couldn't keep the cocky smirk off of his face as he walked up to her. She glared back at him, "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh," but he still did. First just a snigger and then a soft chuckle. Albeit her current position, the whole situation occurred to the young woman and she couldn't help but laugh pathetically also. "Okay that's enough," the young Spicer tapped the tin can twice with a smile still playing at his lips, "Back to work, solider."

The bot released Kimiko instantly. She reached out and steadied herself against Jack, as the Jackbot retracted its arms and wheeled away.

Kimiko sighed at the ground and mumbled, "I feel stupid. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologising," Jack told her shaking his head. In an attempt to try and salvage what they had almost started just half an hour earlier. Jesus! What a rollercoaster!

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and bent his neck, "Let's just restart, okay?"

She sniffled but her arms went around him as well and he felt her head move against his side nodding, "Okay."

"Since you have the day off tomorrow would you like to hang out and catch up?" Jack asked gently.

Again her head bobbed with her response, "That sounds like a great idea."

"Where would you like to go? I can pick you up if you like?" the young man pulled back so he could look at her but kept his hands lightly on the tops of her arms.

"No! I'll just meet you here, if that's alright with you," the young woman muttered almost acting sheepishly now.

Jack just shrugged like it was no big deal, "Sure. Would you at least like me to take you back to the temple tonight?"

"No! Err-no, thank you!" the young woman jumped and turned to the door, "I can manage. I have the wu remember?" Jack followed the Xiaolin dragon outside of the house and watched as she reached in to her jumper and pulled out two tiny artifacts seemingly from her bra. Jack averted his gaze and cleared his throat in an attempt to also clear his head of indecent thoughts, "Changing chopsticks!" the artifacts grew to their original size and threw one in the ari, "Silver Manta Ray!"

Kimiko hopped up on to the wing and before climbing inside the vehicle turned back to the young man, "What time?"

"Whenever you like?" he offered with a kind smile.

The woman blushed and averted her gaze, "I would rather you pick a time, otherwise I'm not leaving."

"Oh," Jack replied dumbly and instead suggested, "How about three? We can hang out here for a while and then I'll take you out for a meal in the evening. If you want to, that is."

_Please say yes! Please say yes! Please say yes!_

"That would be nice," Kimiko smiled back at him genuinely and before she hopped in to the Wu she again apologised for her earlier actions, "I promise, I wasn't... I'm sorry." Without giving him time to respond to that she jumped in to the cockpit of the hover craft yelling, "See you tomorrow, Spicer!"

With that she zoomed in to the night sky leaving Jack on his doorstep wondering what the fuck just happened...

* * *

**So this story does go zero to a hundred real quick! Apologies this is pretty much an upchuck of words while I have been trying to get out of Writer's Blockville - not a great place, its a bit dull.**

**I would love to hear your thoughts, my friends. Would you be interested in more? If you're not keen let me know why? I can only improve upon what I am told.**

**Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my ramblings.**

**Linx**


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